With regard to present medical practice, there occurs a variety of situations and/or circumstances during which certain medical procedures need to be carried out wherein it becomes necessary to be able to elevate the anterior abdominal wall of a patient from the underlying internal organs positioned adjacent thereto. More particularly, such a technique is utilized during such procedures a Laparascopy, peritoneal tap, peritoneal lavage, as well as having applicability to various aspects of surgery, be it surgery of the abdominal area or not.
In the past, the method by which the anterior abdominal wall has been elevated away from the underlying abdominal organs during such procedures, techniques and/or surgery as referred to above has been by the utilization of various mechanical devices such as clamps and the like, all of which are cumbersome, cause additional morbidity to the area of utilization as well as necessitate extensive sterilization procedures before utilization. Additionally, the utilization of such clamps and the like necessitate additional personnel to be present during a procedure and/or operation simply for the purposes of assisting in the utilization thereof and to insure proper elevation of the abdominal wall.
It is in the context of the above that Applicant's present invention seeks to overcome many of the prior art disadvantages associated with said procedures and/or surgery that requires the lifting of the abdominal wall from its contact with other internal organs of the body and to otherwise provide a new and useful means and technique to accomplish same.
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to devise a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet which is capable of having one surface thereof adhesively adhere to the skin of a patient at a particular location on the patient's body and to have formed on the exposed non-adhesive surface thereof folds capable of providing to a surgeon a means to grab on to said sterile adhesive sheet so as to be able to lift the skin surface to which said sterile adhesive sheet is affixed in a fashion so as to able to lift the tissue in question away from the underlying body organs, same to be accomplished in a controlled and selected manner.
It is another object of the invention to create a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet wherein the folds formed adjacent to the exposed non-adhesive portion of said sheet additionally provide means for gripping of same by having formed therein openings which can be grasped by a surgeon's fingers.
It is another object of the invention to create a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet whereby said sterile adhesive sheet is capable of being cut and otherwise fashioned to any desired shape or form so as to be compatible with placement on any surface area of the human body without diminishing its capability of assisting in the lifting of surface tissue away from underlying organs of the body positioned at said location.
It is another object of the invention to create a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet capable of surgical application as referred to above whereby same is easily sterilized and inexpensive to fabricate such that same can be discarded after utilization without concern.
It is another object of the invention to create a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet wherein said sterile adhesive sheet is capable of being impregnated with antimicrobial agents so as to provide a means for decreasing the chances of infection at a particular location on the body where said sterile adhesive sheet is utilized in conjunction with a medical procedure or application.
It is another object of the invention to create a new and improved design and composition for a sterile adhesive sheet whereby said sterile adhesive sheet is also capable of providing the dual function of minimizing exposure to infection at a location of surgery upon the human body by having said sterile adhesive sheet also function as a surgical drape at said location.